A Conglomeration Of Reasons Why Fantasy Books Are Entirely The Greatest Thing Since The Egyptians Baked Cake

If I could only choose one genre to devour until dawn it would, definitely, be fantasy.

I LOVE FANTASY. I was looking at the books I’ve bought this year and 97.3% of my choices are fantasy novels because I have an addiction and I’m not even sad about it. My first fandom was fantasy. My first bookish love was fantasy. The first book I wrote was fantasy. MY FIRST THOUGHT AS A TINY CHILD WAS PROBABLY “I SHALL GROW TALL AND STRONG SO I MAY READ FANTASY NOVELS”. #legit *

“Okay, Cait,” you say, “chill a second and explain? WHY THE INFATUATION????”

Lucky for you, today’s post is entirely dedicated to WHY fantasy is the greatest thing since the Egyptians gave us cake. ** And by the end you are 100% guaranteed to agree with me because I’m very persuasive and also because I’m right and you want to be right too.

* I actually failed at the “grow tall and strong” part, sadly. I am 5’1, although I consider myself strong because I can lift like 30 books SO THERE.
** Although I confess that Google was somewhat divided as to the true creator of cake. The Egyptians were sweetening their bread, but is that really cake??? The Norse gave us the word cake, starting with kaka because that’s how the cool people say it. And then the Europeans got the bright idea to add in baking powder, bless them, and make cakes round with icing. Doubly bless them. CAKE INVENTION WAS A TEAM EFFORT. GO HUMANITY. WE DID GOOD.

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is “Ten Reasons I Love X“ and since I don’t love X particularly (I mean, it’s a nice letter and it promises treasure, but I wouldn’t marry it or anything) I decided to insert “fantasy books” there. As you do.

1. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE GARGANTUANLY ENDLESS.

Anything can happy in fantasy. ANYTHING. And the combinations of the possibilities are my favourite part. Do you want krakens and sushi and sword fights and wizardry skills? THERE’S PROBABLY A BOOK FOR THAT. It makes everything so exciting!

2. IT’S SO UNRELATABLE THAT IT IS, IN FACT, ENTIRELY RELATABLE.

Okay here it is: I struggle with contemporaries because I never went to highschool. #HomeschoolerConfessions So basically 90% of contemporaries somewhat TERRIFY ME because it’s like they’re happening on another planet anyway. So I might as well read fantasy, peoples, which feels more homey and understandable.

Plus fantasy has a way of weaving in things I’m very well acquainted with but, you know — ADDING DRAGONS. Like, sure, it’s nice to read a book about an sassy human trying to make friends in a contemporary highschool setting. But that storyline becomes waaaaay more interesting when it’s a sassy human trying to make friends IN A JUNGLE WITH MAN EATING PANTHERS AND OH IT JUST SO HAPPENS EVERYTHING THEY TOUCH WILL DIE.

3. DRAGONS. DRAGONS. DRAGONS.

I’ve mentioned it once or twice already, but I’m going to say it again: DRAGONS. Show me any book ever and I will tell you how it’d be better with dragons.

(By the way, it mildly concerns me about the lack of dragons on the shelves these days. What is wrong with the universe???? SOMEONE PUT A DRAGON IN HERE.)

4. WHEN I READ I GET TO BE THE CHARACTERS, ERGO I GET TO BE AWESOME.

A really really well written book makes me feel like I am inside the book. Ergo why would I choose an average awkward day in reality — WHEN I COULD BE RAISING ARMIES OF THE DEAD AND LEADING THEM TO VICTORY OR DESTRUCTION OR WHICHEVER BECAUSE I’M NOT EVEN FUSSED.

I like to imagine myself with epic fantastical hair with the ability to do backflips on a moving magical pegasus. *

* I mean, obviously I actually haven’t actually tried doing backflips on a pegasus so I’m just making an assumption to the difficulty level here.

5. THERE ARE SO MANY DELIGHTFUL TROPES THAT YOU ONLY FIND IN FANTASY.

Tropes are not all bad! In fact, there are some tropes that you only need whisper very cautiously in my ear and I will sprint across nine galaxies blindfolded with only pistachios for snacks to get to read the book about them.

FOR INSTANCE…I adore these tropes:

The lost/forgotten/runaway royalty: I don’t know how fantasies always lose their royalty, but it’s FUN TO READ ABOUT. Although this would be solved with a kiddie leash, honestly. Get it together, fantasy governments. But seriously you say “lost princess”, I say “I’m reading this”.

Small Sassy Warrior Everyone Underestimates: I love anything with sass, but also when they’re a freakishly fantastic fighter and everyone is like “Go home baby child!” and then — WHAM — seven civilisations have been decimated.

Assassin All The Things: Provided the assassin is actually an assassin and doesn’t just pretend to be one(because that is the most annoying of ever) this trope is FUN.

Let’s Gamble For A Kingdom: Or, you know, gambling for anything. Like when wits collided and the stakes are high — me likey.

6. FANTASY IS GENERALLY VERY PRODUCTIVE.

You get like 400-pages basically to:

a) defeat the evil overlord
b) win your true love
c) recover from some massive wound
d) get a talking pet cat probably
e) discover you have magical powers
f) walk 1000 miles and then like like another dozen or so because your map sucks
g) learn epic fight skills in probably 3 days
h) rescue a few people
i) die
j) come back to life maybe
k) sit down for at least one nice warm meal of butter and potatoes and pudding

YOU GET SO MUCH DONE IN A FANTASY NOVEL IT MAKES YOU FEEL MONSTROUSLY PRODUCTIVE! And then makes you feel a little guilty that you spent like 3 hours on that one photo for bookstagram, but pfffffft. That’s different.

7. YOU GET TO ADMIRE THE AUTHOR’S HEAD AND BRAINCELLS WITHIN.

Which is…kind of creepy when written out like that. I’m sure, if I ever meet an author, the first thing that’ll bust out of my mouth will be, “HELLO I AM A HUGE FAN OF YOUR HEAD AND THE BRAINCELLS INSIDE IT.”

But do you know how much thinking energy goes into creating fantasy worlds?!? Like sure you get to base it off our world, usually, but creating magic systems? Hierarchies? Creatures? Huge casts of characters? Cultures? Customs? Religion? Geography? History? HOW MANY MOONS IT HAS?????? It all adds up and it’s rather ginormous and impressive.

8. THERE IS MAGIC AND YOU ARE 100% ABLE TO WHISPER TO YOURSELF “YER A WIZARD” AND FEEL FABULOUS.

Magic is awesome. No denying. Reading books about wizards with magic lets YOU be a wizard with magic and you CANNOT LOOK AT ME and say you don’t wish you had magic occasionally. Or all the time. I especially wish I had magic when I’m trying to carry 495849 books home from the library and, heck yes, I could use one of those magical bottomless bags.

Not that all other genres are all gooey fluffy marshmallow sandwiches, of course. BUT! With fantasy it’s more likely to be death by sword fights or a man-eating-tree or neglected kraken. YOU CAN NEVER TELL. And the stakes are generally higher. There’s no going to prison, ahahahaha, nope. OFF WITH ALL THE HEADS. DOWN WITH THE KING. DEATH TO ALL WHO SAY NO.

(Yes I’m quite fine. Normal even.)

10. IT’S DELIGHTFUL ESCAPISM (UGH, REALITY, GET IT OFF ME)

Sometimes reality is just…ugh. There is nothing more delicious than opening a book and popping inside of it for a while to live amongst pointy knives and crowns and lost princesses and socially awkward wizards.

Plus fantasy is an excellent way of processing reality. Let’s talk about discrimination: but via trolls and hedgehog wars. Let’s talk about the value of education: but via illiterate heroes who want to better themselves. Let’s talk about acceptance: with a fantasy world with no sexism.

I have to put up with reality ALL DAY so ‘scuse me while I want a break and a dragon.

if you could only choose ONE GENRE, what would you pick??? do you like fantasy? (no pressure, but ya better) do you relate to any of the points on my list? and do you think literature is in general lack of dragons and should fix this failing immediately????? link me to your TTT posts, too!

Comments

And fantasy reads always cheer you up. I like it when fantasy books have happy endings (which they most often do). I love magical realism too. Just a touch of fantasy to brighten up the mundane world. They just make the world so much better. Why cant non readers understand that fantasy is also soemthing true?Resh Susan recently posted…Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi : Prerequisites and After Effects

YES! It does cheer you up! I mean how can we read a book with a nice stabby dragon and NOT feel gladder about the universe entirely? :’) I love magical realism too!! I like that it’s in our world so a bit easier to follow but still has all the epic magic. 😀

I’m ALL FOR fantasy; dragons, stabbing, death and magnificent braincells go wonderfully with a cup of tea when I sit down to read about them!

But then again, most of that (dragons, stabbing, great braincells and the like) pretty much describe YOU to a tee, Cait.
With cake (#kaka), of course.

I’ve always liked Fantasy but after I started reading your blog the gates to fantasy have flown wide open and I LOVE IT.
I swear, I get most of my fantasy recs from you. *applause* and like every third book I read is fantasy!

YES! WE LOVE STABBING AND DRAGONS AND MAGNIFICENT BRAINCELLS. THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE TO THE GLORY HERE. Except epic book hangovers, but you can get that with any genre. *nods* And yes it describes me. And most of my books, tbh. Although, well, I’ve written half a mountain of books and only TWO have dragons in it and I’m deeply ashamed. I’ll eat cake (#kaka) and rethink my life.

Fantasy is really cool! I love it! Although if I could only choose one genre, I’d probably choose Contemporary – To be honest, my favourite type of books are the ones you can relate to, and whilst fantasy is amaze, it’s not very relatable. I have actually never read a book with dragons, unless you count my three year old learn to read book… So yeah, that needs to change ASAP! Great post Cait, you offered some really interesting points!

Ahhh, I totally understand that. But *piles all the fantasy on my head* I always feel like I relate to the dragons better than the contemporaries. haha.😂 But that’s why it’s good there are so many genre options right?!

Cait, I agree with everything you said here. “IT’S SO UNRELATABLE THAT IT IS, IN FACT, ENTIRELY RELATABLE.” Oh God, this is so true?! Like of course Harry is a wizard who goes to a school of witchcraft. But he’s relatable and the world is relatable, somehow.

I don’t understand what was in J.K. Rowling’s brain when she created this world. I mean, how? How can a human brain be this genius and astonishing?? The same goes with J.R.R. Tolkien. I have yet to read his books, but from watching the films only I can’t fathom how…. just how? He even created an entire language system??? Fantasy authors are beyond awesome.

YES YES I’M SO GLAD YOU AGREE!! And I’m so glad my “so unrelatable it’s relatable” point made sense.😂 Because heck yes Hogwarts is relatable but still fantastical and how on earth did JK Rowling do it? GENIUS. THAT IS ALL. PURE GENIUS. Tolkien is disgustingly talented too omg.

I LOVE THE FANTASY GENRE SO MUCH. literally nothing about this list is wrong. I mean, personally, if I had to choose just one genre to read for the rest of my life, it’d be fairytale reimaginings because it could be in ANY THING – sci fic, fantasy, contemporary. (Yes, I am cheating, your point? xD) BUT FANTASY BOOKS ARE MAGICAL AND DRAGONS MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER.Ara @ Open Pages recently posted…top ten; reasons i enjoy the starbound trilogy

ALL MY LISTS ARE FLAWLESS, ARA. JUST ADMIT IT. *flips hair majestically* Ahem, but yes, what were we saying? OH YEAH. FANTASY IS GREAT. And yesss to fairy tale retellings. Omg I love them so much and cannot get enough of them. All the retellings. They can be so cleverly done!!

YES! Fantasy is life, basically. Though it does make me believe I can kick ass and give out witty remarks to someone when in reality I’d jump the moment I see a cockroach. BUT IT IS AWESOME. SO FANTASY FOREVER. Great post, Cait!

I prefer Urban Fantasy to Epic… but before the pitchforks are raised, it is fantasy. Besides, Harry Potter is the best series of forever and IT HAS DRAGONS, and it is urban fantasy. kind of.

Speaking of dragons… is Seraphina #2 out yet?
*checks goodreads*
OMIGOSH IT IS FOR ALMOST AN YEAR AND I LET IT PASSSonia @ The Book Wielding Harpie recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #3: 10 Reasons I love…

IT’S ALL FANTASY!! NO PITCHFORKS HERE! I really really love urban too. <3 Or paranormal. Because you can STILL HAVE DRAGONS and also sometimes it's set in our world, which is a bit easier to follow *nods*

DUDE, YES, I KNOW RIGHT??!? I haven't read Shadow Scale either and it's been out for 900 years and what am I doing with my life? Where are my priorities?! *sobs*

Ah your summing up of fantasy novels is so true! And did I just forget you were homeschooled or DID I NEVER KNOW :O I have that problem with a lot of contemporaries, having homeschooled form year 2 and not gone to college so everything I know about them is from books, which are not always completely reliable. So what actually happens there in the real world??

Fantasy is my favouritest, but si-fi and dystopian follow close after and then a lot of other genres follow them. But I always come back to a cool fantasy adventure where people are running from their lives and using their cool powers.Clare Farrelly recently posted…Funny Spam Comments

I might not have mentioned I was homeschooled for a while! SO THAT MIGHT BE IT. But omg the highschool world is befuddling right??? And also most books I read are American highschools AND THAT’S EVEN WORSE. LIKE HOW DO THEY EVEN FUNCTION OVER THERE? IT’S SO WEIRD.

I actually don’t read much sci-fi but I DO LOVE WHAT I DO READ. And I used to adore dystopian, but I kind of got flooded out.😂

If I could only choose one genre, I would also choose fantasy for most of the same reasons as you did.
Sometimes, I don’t even understand how authors have the brain capacity to create entirely new worlds, like in the Harry Potter books for instance. I really admire the complex world building that fantasy authors have to do..
Also, YOU NEED TO READ THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER, ITS AMAZING!!

I,too, would probably choose fantasy as well. FANTASY IS THE BEST. Your point about productiveness is so true. Fantasy characters get the job done. I love fantasy because it’s so unique–and because the genre is so saturated, a lot of the books being published are really original.. I especially love diverse fantasy–I read the Magicians Guild series by Trudi Canavan in the last few weeks, which has lots of different characters and cultures and backgrounds (plus the author is australian) reading fantasy allows me to delude myself that I have adventures.,Shanti recently posted…Two Books I didn’t Like Much

YES TO FANTASY!! Fantasies do get the job done, *nods* None of this sitting around in a coffee shop with feelings. You have to develop feelings WHILE walking a hundred miles fighting flying gorillas or whatever torture the world is throwing at you. That’s multi-tasking. I haven’t read The Magicians Guild but IT SOUNDS GRAND.

OOOH I LOVE FANTASY! I mean, I only got started reading it around 2 years ago thanks to Throne of Glass (which I am SO annoyed at because Queen of Shadows disappointed me to no end), so my collection isn.’t extensive.

Before my favorite genre would 110% be contemporary (when I still was naive and could not grasp the thought of dragons and magic) but for a while it moved to fantasy because of Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J. Maas, and Marie Lu! Now I’m trying to get into sci-fi as I’m writing a steampunk book but sadly I just can’t grasp the tech-y vibe of sci-fi / space opera, so I’m opting for steampunk!

But my favorite genre would definitely be gothic / paranormal. My first two books were paranormal and sucked, but I love the idea of creep and suspense and horror! 😊

OMG STAND WITH ME, ANDREA!! I WAS DISAPPOINTED HORRIBLY BY QUEEN OF SHADOWS TOO!!! Honestly Throne of Glass used to be my favourite and actually changed the way I thought about fantasy when I started reading it (2 years ago for me too, I think??) and really inspired me! But now? BLEH. I have found much better replacements.😂 hehe.

LEIGH BARDUGO THOUGH. *SHRIEKS* I cannot get enough of her books.

I do like paranormal a lot too *hi fives* Especially since the world building is usually easier to follow (since it’s generally our world) but we can still have all the epic fantastical creatures/events. #win

I’d probably go with fantasy too! It is definitely my favourite genre. Followed by dystopian and contemporary, which are tied right now. It used to be dystopian, but I read so many they all started to sound the same or literally were just books that stole ideas from other dystopians *cough* Red Queen *cough*. So fantasy wins for me. It is my favourite thing of ever. I adore all the magic, and the endless possibilities!

I used to love dystopian A LOT until it kind of got flooded with not-so-goodly-written books.😂 But zomg Red Queen. AWK. DON’T GET ME STARTED. *howls at it*
*composes self*
Yes, yes, the endless possibilities of fantasy are just my favourite though. <3

I LOVED the list of things that happen in fantasy novels hahaha so true. I’ve always been a huge fan of fantasy – I mean there are contemporaries and stuff I like obviously BUT MAGIC AND FALLING EMPIRES AND UNDERDOG SASSY HEROES WHO TURN OUT TO BE LOST ROYALS BECAUSE THOSE PEOPLE REALLY CANNOT KEEP TRACK OF THEIR OFFSPRING. Ahem. I also love urban fantasy, because it’s like our lame boring world, but then you go around a corner and BOOM MAGIC AND DRAGONS AND LOOK AT THAT AN EVIL WITCH LET’S TURN AROUND OK. Also, they’re easier to get into than having to learn an entire new world, which can be nice during busy time.

YES ALL OF THESE YES AND YES AGAIN. Especially keeping track of the family. Like seriously is it that hard? You could give all the royal kids homing pigeons or whatever so at least they could send medieval text messages. Tie them together. Put bells on them. STAHP LOSING YOUR CHILDREN, KINGS AND QUEENS OF FANTASY LAND. Ahem.
Basically fantasy is the best. *nods* No one can deny it.

Fantasy is my favorite genre without a doubt. I’ve always liked it, and then I read Lord of the Rings and was lost without hope of rescue. 😉

I enjoy dragons, but they are also the most common fantasy creature. I want to see more creatures, like griffins and phoenixes. And a greater variety of fantasy while we’re at it. I love medieval fantasy, but what about a fantasy with futuristic technology? Or a dystopian fantasy? Must. Write. Someday. But not now; I’ve too many other works in progress.

eheheheh, I hear ya with the “Too many works in progress”.😂 BUT YET THE PLOT BUNNIES COME! I do like futuristic fantasy, which I guess is just sci-fi? But then I just like any fantasy, omg, give it to me aaaaall. And I do agree there are tons of magical creatures that are awesome…GRIFFINS…but I honestly never see dragons in fantasy books!! IT SADDENS ME. Maybe I’m not reading the right ones?!

Yes, but a sci-fi with dragons instead of space and swords which can cut through time and gems which can heal a destroyed land…

But dragons…I guess there is the Inheritance Cycle, which I’ve not read. And The Hobbit. And my books…which are no where near finished so they don’t really count. And I guess Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It seems like they’re fairly common but maybe it’s just the idea that’s common because now that I actually try to think of titles, hardly anything is coming to mind. *sighs*

Fantasy is also my first genre, but sometimes I like to read contemporary to take just read something normal 😀 I agree with your points, the possibilities are endless. You could add any kind of magic, weird creatures, build different worlds, anything! And it makes me wonder where the authors get all this amazing idea??? It’s just really amazing and entertaining to read!Tasya recently posted…ARC Review: The Whispering of Trees by C.Y Bourgeois

Omg the authors brains though. THEY ARE INCREDIBLE THINGS. I want to know where they get all the ideas from too. hehe.😂 But yes yes, contemporary STILL IS NICE THOUGH. Sometimes it’s a lot less stressful than an epic fantasy where everyone is running around stabbing and burning things. *nods*

I’D PICK FANTASY!!!!!!! XD (But you knew that already.) I am borderline allergic to reality. 😉
I think the lack of dragons is down to people trying to avoid fantasy cliches?? Like, you see it in reviews all the time, people moaning about dragons and runaway royals and all the good stuff. 🙁 I don’t understand it. Especially as, a lot of the things that people call fantasy cliches, I haven’t seen a lot/haven’t seen done before in that particular way/haven’t seen at all. Seriously, elves and dwarves are apparently fantasy cliches. Magnus Chase, that’s it. I have read approximately zero other books with elves or dwarves.Rain @ Ivyclad Ideas recently posted…Percy Jackson and the Greek Heroes (or Your Own Personal Odyssey)

I’m definitely allergic to reality. Ew. It’s just so…real. *shoves it away and runs back to fantasy worlds*

And UGH I don’t understand how people can reject these runaway royals and dragons. Sheesh. I suppose maybe all the “cliches” have sort of died out and we’re ready for them to come back??? And YES OMG I never see elves OR dwarves. Ever. It’s sadness basically.

Whispering* I have never read any fantasy novel. Its not a genre that I have ever been interested in but posts such as this make me curious enough. I have been planning on starting with Harry Porter since it seems quite popular. Great post. I love the humor in your posts plus all the Gifs and pics 🙂

I’m so torn between fantasy and sci-fi, because on one hand, you have dragons and on the other space battles. Why don’t we just combine them? Fanta-Fi which has dragons battling in space. Can I get a second to this motion?

And you are so correct. Why would I want to read about a stuffy old high school when I could hang out with elves and wizards and dragons and stabby people? I have never understood those who read only ontemporary. I get the love, but there is love in fantasy too, people. Yeash.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, CAIT!!! As you know, I’m more of a contemporary reader, but you’ve definitely made me crave some fantasy with this list!!! We did a similar topic today as well… Becca did fantasy and I did contemp. I love your reasoning AND your gifs because AMAZING! <3Lisa @ Lost in Lit recently posted…The Many Reasons Why We Love Reading Fantasy & Contemporary Books!

I LOVE FANTASY TOO, and everything in this post resonates with me. I think I love #1 and #5 the most — even though there are tropes, the possibilities are like you said quite endless, and every time an author finds a new twist to an existing trope I GET SO GIDDY. I also loooove the escapism that it gives — contemporary books don’t always do it, in my opinion.

YESSSS. I love the twists to the old tropes! IT’s SO GLORIOUS. And it just makes me happy to know authors have grand imaginations even though almost all the ideas have been sort of used already. :’) IMAGINATION GOALS.

I would definitely pick fantasy, if I had to choose one genre. I’ve been trying to branch out this year and read other stuff, + more contemporaries (because I always seem to lack at reading those), but wow do I come back to fantasy a lot. It’s just so much more exciting?!??! And I relate to it way more than most contemporaries, like you said. It seems I skipped over the, ‘I’m a teen so let’s rebel and drink and party,’ thing. {seriously though, why are the characters like this in almost every contemporary. where are the bloggers, or the quiet kids, or the mature ones???? WHERE IS THE ACCURATE REPRESENTATION.}
YA is DEFINITELY lacking in dragons. I feel like I haven’t seen a dragon book in ages, to be honest. Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen a book/series concerning magical creatures that aren’t ‘human-ish,’ either….
*slams fists down* MORE MAGICAL CREATURES, I SAY.adaline @ not gary cooper recently posted…// may recap 2016 //

I TOTALLY KNOW HOW YOU FEEL. *nods* And I always come back to fantasy! Or just gravitate towards it…even though I do try to read some contemporaries too.😂 But contemporaries are just super unrelatable for me too? I could honestly envision a dragon better than those highschool parties. I mean, which is more scary? HIGHSCHOOL STUFF.

AND THERE AREN’T ENOUGH DRAGON BOOKS. IT’S SUCH A SHAME. The only recent one I can think of is Julie Kagawa’s Talon series. NOT ENOUGH. WE NEED MORE.

I didn’t know you were homeschooled! Me too! -high fives-
I looove fantasy. Which is strange because thinking about it now, I haven’t actually read tons of it. I don’t really know why. o.o But my recent goal is to READ BASICALLY EVERYTHING AT THE LIBRARY so I’m sure to find at least a few good fantasies in there. I THINK I would have to choose fantasy if I had to choose one? But I’ve also been growing to like sci-fi more lately. Mostly because I’m writing a sci-fi story and I love it and want to cuddle it and so I’m wondering if all the sci-fi will be the same way. But yeah, fantasy will prooobably always be my favorite. Swords and dragons and mythical creatures and magic are awesome.

*HI FIVES! I mean I am graduated but once a homeschooler always a homeschooler right!? WE ARE ePIC. *nods*

OMG I LOVE YOUR GOAL! That was my goal until I started book blogging and got sent tons of books hahaa.😂 Omg but all the fantasy = needs in my life. Oh you write sci-fi?! THAT’S AWESOME! I think that’s super hard to write SO I ADMIRE YOU RIGHT NOW.😂

Okay you are tall. THAT IS UNFAIR. *melts into a tiny puddle because is tiny* OMG I HOPE YOU LOVED RUINED!! Did you like An Ember in the Ashes? I didn’t. *hides* I think it was just using violence as a shock-factor and not actually getting much plot in there. #sadface 😂

I would definitely pick fantasy over any other genre too, and I agree with all your reasons (especially the dragons – I do love all the dragons!). I just love the ‘anything can happen’ element of it that you don’t really get with most genres.Laura recently posted…My Top Ten Sarah J. Maas Characters

YYEEESSS!!!! Which is why this is my favorite blog! It’s awesome knowing there are others who get how amazing it is to dive into magical adventures that are the craziest imaginationism and yet totally relatable! Yaaaaayyy!:):):)

Omgggggg favourite blog?!? *flails happily for 90000 years* YOU ARE SO NICE, KAMI, THANK YOU. CAKE FOR YOU. And omg all the fantasy for us, we have excellent taste in books. THE POSSIBILITIES OF FANTASY IS JUST INCREDIBLE.

You KNOW I would pick fantasy. FANTASY IS LIFE. (Which I’m aware is a slightly metaphysical sentence when you get into it. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy … Caught in a landslide …. etc etc.)

Loved #6. Though sometimes I come away from writing and I’m like “well Emily, Corrie has ridden on horseback through an enchanted snow-covered forest today and also discovered a lost magical book that’ll probs defs save the world WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” She makes me feel bad. I hate when your characters end up being far more awesome than you. ~plays violin sadly~

ALSOOO the picture with the tessellating books (the first one, well the first one not including the title one) made me REALLY REALLY HAPPY AND LIKE WOW. LOVE IT. !!!!!!

FANTASY IS LIFE. IT’S LIKE THE BEST PART OF LIFE, HONESTLY. But omg, the amount they accomplish and I’m like “yeah I wrote a blog post ahhahha” #dead It’s a bit confronting sometimes, sheesh. BUT THEN. We don’t have dragons and magic so we can’t be expected to be just as fabulous as fantasy books.
(Also when it’s one’s own characters, it’s probably worse. THEY NEED TO CHILL AND STOP MAKING THEIR CREATORS LOOK BAD, YES?)

AHHH THANKYOU! I’m super proud of how that picture turned out.😂 Aaaaand the hours it took me to do that? Is exactly why I get nothing done.😂

IT IS SUCH A GLORIOUS GENRE. AHHHHH. And same! I used to ONLy read fantasy and then I switched to never reading it. I mean?? I was a weird child.😂😂 Now I do read other things too BUT FANTASY IS STILL MY #1 TRUE LOVE.

Haha! I love this list so much! XD Especially the one about admiring the author. There are some books where I just basically sit there and try to figure out what could POSSIBLY be going on in the author’s head to come up with such an insanely detailed world.Tracy @ Cornerfolds recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #99: Reasons I love Galadriel

Ugh, reality: GET IT OFF ME. Hahaha that is basically my mind, 24/7. How do you consistently read my mind? Do you have powers? Did you get them from reading fantasy? Hmmm…I see, I see, so mine must be coming one of these days. MUAHAHAHAHA

Erm, so yeah…I LOVE fantasy more than ANY other genre. What weirds me out is that I never read fantasy as a kid O.O I mean, I watched superhero stuff, but I didn’t start reading fantasy till I was in my 20’s. Before that, I read contemporaries. What even? (weirdo) In any case, HP got me hooked on fantasy and I haven’t looked back. I agree, I too am the hero when I am reading, so hello adventures. I love that anything is possible. And DRAGONS ♥ Yes.Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows Reviews recently posted…Review: The Demi God Diaries

I DO HAVE POWERS. It’s all the fantasy books I read, see? WIZARDRY SKILLS = I ABSORB THEM.

I actually grew up on historical fiction mostly?!? So I think maybe some of us are a bit deluded as children and don’t understand all the dragons and krakens we’re missing out on. WE MUST MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME AT LEAST. *nods* *devours a gazillion fantasies*

I agree with everything in this post especially no. 7 because hey it’s not easy to build an imaginary world. LOL maybe that’s why I’m more into contemporary stuff when I write. (but I’m branching to sci-fi tee-hee!) I’ve been obsessed with Six of Crows lately and can’t wait for Crooked Kingdom to come out!
Sadly I don’t read as many fantasy books as I’d like. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of awesome fantasy books out there but it can be overwhelming to just choose one or two, you know? Any recs on which books I should read first? 😀

oooh, good luck with your sci-fi expeditions! 😀 I actually find fantasy easier to write than sci-fi omg.😂 BUT SIX OF CROWS WAS AMAZING RIGHT?!? I JUST WANT TO HUG IT. Although all the characters would definitely stab me? But still. One must take these risks.

Ohhhh, have you read The Demon King series? IT IS INCREDIBLE and has just about everything a good fantasy should have *nods*

Perfect reasons and I can always count on a dragon mention (or two) when reading your blog. I am obsessed with “The Mother of Dragons” on the Game of Thrones and basically had to find my 2 dogs dragon dog toys so they could share my obsession. My husband now calls me “Mother of Boxers.” Now if only I had the rest of her power! Great list!

Fantasy Lovers Unite! Basically every story that can be told in other genres can be done in fantasy, except, you know, with dragons and stuff.

I agree with no 7 so, so much. Sometimes I feel like fantasy authors have a special device where they siphon a bit of creativity and brain power from all the people in the world to create their worlds. Massive respects to the authors who basically have an encyclopedia worth of background information for their universes.Jamie @ Watch Game Read recently posted…Ten Reasons Why I Love Brandon Sanderson

Dragons are the best! I don’t read as much fantasy as I used to, but I totally see your point. I think my problem is that I get so attached to certain fantasy worlds (Middle-earth and Hogwarts come to mind) that I have a hard time getting into new ones.Kate @ Parchment Girl recently posted…8 Great Things about Middle-earth…and 3 Not-So-Great Things

I totally get that! Sometimes it IS hard to get into fantasy anyway, right? Because the worlds can be a bit complex and sometimes they toss you in and it’s like “HALP I’M DROWNING”. I love Middle Earth and Hogwarts!! *hi fiveS*

If I could just one genre . . . eehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . I guess classics? Because that’s where most of my current favorite books are? (I don’t usually think of books by genre, you see, so I always pause when I get to that question 😉 ) My favorite genre to WRITE is definitely historical fiction; but so much of historical fiction these days is–er–Not Very Good in terms of quality. (Leastaways that’s what I’ve found . . . ) So it’s not my favorite genre to READ.

Do I like fantasy? Hmmmmmmmmmm. I don’t usually find myself reading fantasy–at least these days–but two of my all-time-favorite reads as a child were “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Phantom Tollbooth,” and they’re both DEFINITELY fantasy, so yeah. (Plus, they’ve probably influenced my personality and character and what-not more than any other books I’ve ever read, so I would be INCREDIBLY ungrateful to say I don’t like fantasy.)

GOOD. BECAUSE THAT SHOULD BE THE PITCH OF MY NEXT BOOK I THINK. *nods sagely* And omg you’re a historical fiction writer?! I AM IN AWE OF YOUR SKILLS! I just can’t even imagine getting all the research together and making it perfect so I BOW TO YOUR SKLILS THERe.😂

And I definitely grew up on Narnia and AHH PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH. <3 Clearly you had a good childhood. 😉

You never fail to make me laugh and relate with your posts. 1000% fantasy slayyyys other genres (quite a recent personal discovery)!! Not too fond of contemporary either… real life stuff. You are so right about the productivity of fantasy books *vigorously nodding in agreement with your list*. I actually haven’t read many books with dragons – not very present in YA. Recommendations? Also GIFs are on point 🙂Emily recently posted…Top 5 Popular book series I haven’t read // Friday Five

AHHH THIS MAKES ME HAPPY.😂 Thankyou, Emily! And duuuude, YES it slays all the other genres. It just is so EPIC….except for it’s horrible lack of dragons. I mean, wut even, literature. FIX THIS. (I love love loved Seraphina by Rachel Hartman and also Talon by Julie Kagawa.)

You basically put into words all the things I love about fantasy! Love this! It’s my absolute favourite genre too, at least 90% of my books come from that genre. There are so many different subtypes and the possibilities are just endless! No two fantasy books are the same, which I love.Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #60

Firstly, I love that first book image you have, I like how perfectly they are all lined up. I wish I was better with bookish images, normally I just end up putting a load of random books in a pile and I’m like TADAAAAA…books! Haha
I love your choice for this weeks topic and I am totally with you, fantasy is THE genre to read.
I love fantasy worlds, I love learning everything I can about them. No detail is too little or insignificant, I like to know EVERYTHING!
I also like that there are no rules in fantasy worlds. Books set in the real world have to abide by real world rules, but in fantasy worlds people can live underwater, or talk to animals, or time travel. The possibilities are endless!!!
Also, I totally agree with you on the stabbing etc. I love a good battle in a fantasy world! 🙂

OH MY GOODNESS YES. ALL THE YESES (because that is for sure a word and I do NOT sound like Gollum right now).

Fantasy all the way. I really love how just ANYTHING can happen (as long as it’s written well) and be amazing. I have been adding dragons wherever I can. One of my recent fascination is domesticated dragons. Like, small, fire breathing dragons that ride around on someone’s shoulder. I JUST NEED MORE DRAGONS IN THIS WORLD, please. Can someone get on that? Thanks.

BUT SOUNDING LIKE GOLLUM IS OKAY BECAUSE PRECCCCCIOUS FANTASY. *shrieks* Ahem. But I totally concur about domesticated dragons. POCKET DRAGONS. Like they can sleep in your pocket and maybe help cook toast? I’m 100% writing a book with pocket dragons eventually.

I have a soft spot for fantasy because it’s what really got me into reading when I was younger. I grew up reading Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and anything fantastical that I could get my hands on. I even tried my hand at writing my own fantasy stories when I was in elementary school, although they’re painfully cheesy *cringes*

Ahhhh, YAY for fantasy turning you into a bookworm!! I was obsessed with Narnia when I was little and I 100% blame it for getting me addicted to reading and books and writing and imagining and aaaall the things. *flails*

Lol I went to high school and I still can’t relate to contemporary books. Have you heard of Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey, also called The Dragon Chronicles??? Because if you haven’t you’re missing out on dragons AND polar bears!!!! Though the first book is not that great and is more about squirrels…you should read it!!! ALSO HAVE YOU READ TAMORA PIERCE??!! Because she’s the Queen of Fantasy and you absolutely have to read all of her books – she’s has like over 30! Also, her books have strong, confident female characters who battle against sexism!!! Loved your post! I LOVE ALL YOUR POSTS! Everything you literally say is right!

I actually won a book by Chris D’Lacey and it has a dragon on the cover SO I’M EXCITED TO READ IT!! BECAUSE DRAGONS. CLEARLY IT IS MY KIND OF BOOK. And noooo I haven’t read Tamora Pierce but I didn’t know if I’d like her books since isn’t she mostly MG?? I’m mostly a YA fan.😂 BUT ANYWAY I KINDA NEED TO AT LEAST TRY ONE, RIGHT?!

I need to finish Chris D’Lacey’s books! I think they were still coming out when I was reading them. Just remember, the first one isn’t that great, so just forget most of it, especially the squirrels, and read the rest! ALSO THAT IS A HUGE MISCONCEPTION ABOUT TAMORA PIERCE!!! Her characters start off as young (around 10), but they grow up throughout the books. So it goes from MG to YA.

AND IT’S JUST SO GOOD, SO MANY FEELS, SO MANY SHIPS, SO MUCH DEATH, AN INCREDIBLE MAGIC SYSTEM, MIND BLOWING WORLD BUILDING, REALLY WEIRD MAGICAL CREATURES THAT COULD PROBABLY BEAT UP A DRAGON….

I was expecting to find dragons as reason #1 and stabbing all the things as #2, so I was a bit disappointed for a second but luckily they were in there 😉
Fantasy is definitely my fav genre, I wouldn’t mind (at least not that much) sticking to fantasy for the rest of my days 😄 Although high fantasy can give me a headache sometimes when there are a LOT of creatures and characters to remember and you have to wait a year for the next book. Or longer … I’m looking at you George… Since almost all of the books are part of a serie, which is another reason why I love fantasy, more books = more time to escape reality = always better

OMG I’M SO SAD I LET YOU DOWN. *hangs head in shame* But at least they WERE there and I was trying to not let everyone think my enthusiasticness of stabby stabbings was too high. (I like, failed, but still. I tried.)

OH and I agree that fantasy is sometimes exhausting to read. Especially if it’s complicated and confusing. I like the fantasies with effortless world building best. :’) AND YES TO SERIES!!! I love the promise of more!

Cait, yer a wizard. This post was absolutely brilliant and magical. Yes, yes, yes any book that has dragons (especially sassy dragons) is automatically way cooler than it was without dragons. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who loves tropes. I was really surprised to learn that the Egyptians invented cake! God bless them! They were wonderful human beings. Ugg, seriously though, I wish it wasn’t so hard to stab people in other genres without the police getting involved. That is one of the many pros of writing and being in a fantasy world. XD I can’t decide whether my favorite genre is Fantasy or whatever Jane Eyre is. You know what would be awesome. A Jane Eyre/Fantasy crossover…

I ACCEPT ALL WIZARDRY ACCUSATIONS. *nods* And yessss to sassy dragons. But we need more. MORE. SO MUCH MORE. Someone find me a few dozen authors so I can demand they fix this hole in literature or set my own private dragons upon them. AND YES THANK GOD FOR THE EGYPTIANS.

Also it’s so much easier to write fantasy too….like those darn contemporaries and all the law. GETS SO COMPLICATED.

I LOVE the dragons. I have been raised to love the dragons – I’m Welsh, after all, there is an actual dragon on our flag. (And an awesome big red one at that. I want to an FOB concert in Cardiff, and Pete Wentz was like ‘I love your flag, it’s like something from Game of Thrones!’)

Not enough dragons in books lately. Sad times. :/ Still, I just have to look at a public building where there’re flags – and there’s a dragon! Woo! XD

I would definitely choose Fantasy too. Fantasy is just so wide and your mind is the limit. I related to number 2, I don’t like high school books either, and I am currently homeschooled. I have never been actually been a student in a real high school. I’ve been homeschooled for 3 years, and there is just two more to go, then I’m free. But for now school ends in two weeks, then I will hole up with my fantasy books and hide from the world. I love summer, I have no obligations and I can read books (and Paper Fury), all day. Do you have any fun summer plans?

You have an EXCELLENT use of your free time if it includes copious amounts of fantasy books. *nods enthusiastically* And YAY for homeschooling! I mean, I’m graduated now, but there’s still homeschooling culture, right?!?

Interestingly enough, I hate contemporaries BECAUSE I went to high school and it was terrible and every contemporary novel feels like a lie. I read it like ‘oh, you met your true love at 16, I didn’t go on a date until I was 21…’ Also we’re the same height! If it makes you feel better, from your bookstagram I would have thought you were taller. You have a tall presence haha

And yes to processing reality within fantasy! Would I ever read a book about crippling social anxiety? Maybe, but it may stress me out. But if you add in magic and fantasy and sea people etc. and the hero fights all that while battling crippling social anxiety then I’m in. It’s just a lot more fun to address issues within the context of fantasy #truestoryLiselle @ Lunch-Time Librarian recently posted…Why I Love Book Blogging – Top Ten Tuesday

Ahhhhh, that makes sense though.😂 I mean, I hear the contemporary people all being like “It’s because it’s relatable!” and I’m like “WHO OF YOU FALLS IN LOVE AT 16 AND THEN INHERITS MONEY OR GOES TO PARIS OR SOMETHING OMG”. I think contemporaries are nearly as unrealistic as fantasy sometimes.😂
Omg YAY for my tall presence! It’s me standing in front of my bookshelves right? We won’t talk about the fact my shelf is not so tall either.😂

(Also I 1000% concur on the reading books about stuff that stress you out. Agh. I actually avoid books about anxiety because I HAVE anxiety and it gives me WORSE ANXIETY. Someone leave me with the dragons instead *gross sobbing*)

RIGHT? It’s just a different type of fantasy, but like a fantasy without any monsters or demons or any of the super fun stuff. Which is just baffling. I totally thought your bookshelves were tall too, everything looks so tall!

Amazing post! I absolutely agree with you on all things! I like switching up genres a bit, but I always like going back to fantasy the most. It feels like coming home after a long time away every time – I love it so much and it’s just the genre that makes me feel the best. As you say, you get to live in the main character’s head and be completely awesome and productive and save the world. And of course, it has dragons! I love dragons and all other magical creatures too of course, but dragons are kind of king of all other magical creatures 🙂Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads recently posted…Why You Should Read Anything Written By Sarah J. Maas {Top Ten Tuesday}

Fantasy is my favorite genre! Honestly, it took me so long to figure that out. I kept trying to read contemporary and realistic fiction, but a lot of those books leave me feeling angry (and left out), but Fantasy is just downright fun. So, I guess I can relate to #2. I’ve had such a boring life that reading about some people’s romantic escapades in France or road tripping (or whatever) it makes me feel like crap.

*HI FIVES* YOU WONDEFUL BEAN. And I totally hear ya with taking a while to figure it out.😂 I quit reading fantasy for like 3 years at one point AND NO WONDER MY READING LIFE WAS NOT SO FABULOUS. Total delusion. My heart belongs to fantasy. *eats a hundred of them*

What can i say that hasn’t been said already?? Fantasy is awesome. i find myself in the same boat as you this year, most of the books I’ve bought/borrowed are in the fantasy genre. I’m currently reading The Name of the Wind. It’s a pretty epic book hehe. Happy reading!Curious Daisy (@curious_daisy) recently posted…8 REASONS WHY I LOVE BLOGGING

I approve of this post! While I don’t think fantasy is my favourite genre (I’m actually not sure if I have a favourite genre AT ALL), I love it with a fiery passion! 😀 Also, I’ve been wanting to write a fantasy story myself, but it’s been really daunting and scary, and your post has gotten me motivated again! Thanks for that <3Anne @ Books Baking and Blogging recently posted…Ranking the Harry Potter Books (AKA the Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done)

I AM GLAD YOU LOVE IT WITH A FIERY PASSION! And I know the “what’s your favourite genre” question is TORTUROUS. But must be asked occasionally because I do claim “evil” overlord status. mwhahaha. Ahem.

DUde… you say “no pressure” but what is this repressing feeling that I’m getting? *tries to shake it off*

*fails*

Well, let’s just say that ASIDE from Fantasy, I also like gothic literature quite a bit. Depressing people make me feel good about my own circumstances, may be?

ahem

Number 10. Fantasy or not, number 10 is definitely why I read … practically anything… except for textbooks of course… how I wish I could escape with them, but nayy, that is not to be… what’s wrong with me today?

I totally LIED about the pressure. There is IMMENSE PRESSURE HERE for you to love fantasy because FANTASY. *quietly piles 3938 fantasy books on you* But depressing books are fun too. In like…a really weird way? Omg I don’t even know what I’m saying. But I UNDERSTAND YOUR LOVE FOR IT SO THAT’S ALL GOOD.

but but mean dragons are just misunderstood cinnamon rolls of fire and doom and should still be cuddled.

I’m sure one of these days I will be able to read those 3839 books you have piled on me, that’s practically sitting on top of another 2387945 books *to-be-read*.

Also, I practically live inside a library, so you see the problem… when I’m in the mind to take a break, I simply take a stroll among the endless stacks and… uhh well… I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m hungry… may I have chocolate mousse cake? A side piece please, so I have extra creme and frosting.

For me the biggest thing is fantasy is more fun that RL. There’s no Shire or Rivendell or whatever here… or dragons. Always those. And I need more krakens (you mentioned those wonderful creatures and I was like, oh yeah them!) 🙂 So yeah fantasy is the bestest. And maps… gotta have a fantasy map.

DUDE YES. It is fun. I want to live in the Shire or be a dragon. I mean, I’d like to manage both….maybe I can trade off on weekends. ALSO KRAKENS ARE GREAT! Why are there not many krakens in books either?!?!?

Ahhhh what a coincidence!! I chose the same topic–fantasy is seriously the best! There are honestly SO MANY possibilities and there’s so much imagination involved and magic and just awesomeness pretty much. Also stabbing! And death! YAY. (I’m not crazy, I swear.) Stakes are always generally higher, for sure. And it’s just so great because EXCITEMENT. And tension. And just all around fabulous? 😀 Great list, Cait!Analee @ Book Snacks recently posted…Reasons why fantasy is one of the best genres ever | Top Ten Tuesday #33

ALL OF THIS! I was nodding along so much my head almost fell off. Seriously, I love fantasy. I don’t read as much as I used to because… well. Fantasy is my one true love, and I have all these wonderful happy memories, and I kind of think it might be better to stick to my memories rather than read a lot of new stuff and be very disappointed. I can be disappointed in other genres, that’s ok, because I’m not so in love with them. But when I read a bad fantasy, that’s just so upsetting. THE GENRE WRONGED ME! And I can’t bear it! I’d rather be without and full of happy memories I can revisit, than try and make new memories and just wind up getting burned.

I think I’m taking this “fantasy as love interest” metaphor a bit too far, But it basically sucks SO MUCH MORE when I read a crap fantasy. I hold fantasy up to a higher standard than other books, I guess, because it’s just so wonderful – or it should be! And I get very nervous of starting new books in case they’re not as good as they should be! Which means I have major fantasy droughts. I need to face my fear more. AND I WILL! Because I have Jay Kristoff’s next epic fantasy Nevernight, and it’s assassins and an ASSASSIN SCHOOL and revenge and failed rebellion and talking to shadows and murder, and ohmygod why am I not reading this right now?!

ALSO! I don’t know if you’ve heard of it/already read it/own it, but if none of the above, you’d probably like Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave – fantasy with the daughter of a map maker, and forbidden lands, and friends going missing, and lots and lots of talk about maps. I’ve not read it it, but I’ve heard brilliant things! It has a map, and the edges of every page of theb ook are decorated to look like a map, or with map-ish symbols, and it just screams CAIT to me. It’s quite a short book too, so you’d probably eat in in half an hour 🙂

*carefully duct tapes your head back on* YOUR SUPPORT IS THE BEST THOUGH HERE, JO. NOT EVERYONE LOVINGLY LOSES THEIR HEAD FOR ME. <3 Fantasy is definitely my one true love too. I mean, I'd run away and marry it at DAWN if I didn't kind of love other genres too. (Shhhh don't tell fantasy I'm cheating on it.) And also bad fantasy is ABOMINABLE. And I've thought 2016 has been pretty slack for good fantasies. I'm actually probably harsher on fantasy than every other genre? BUT IT'S MY BABY AND I NEED IT TO BE GOOD.

Oh oh you have Nevernight?! *FLAILS* I get to claim, like, fame or something for that since he's an Aussie author. *nods* I'm buying that the MOMENT IT COMES OUT. Also I haven't heard of Girl of Ink and Stars! *Dashes off to look it up* WAIT DID YOU SAY MAPSSSSSS. AHHHHHHH. Okay, if I can't marry fantasy, I will marry an atlas because MAPS.

I will be calm. I will be calm. CAIT!!! *high five fellow homeschooler!!* Okay. Also, I love your Star Trek quote gif. APPROPRIATE. I love fantasy, but I didn’t grow up reading it. I was grounded in history and biographies and old-fashioned books and historical fiction and then when I was 12, I got to read THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. And I wished, painfully, that I could actually believe that Narnia existed. It has gotten only better since then. I love that you made the point that Fantasy helps process reality. Very true. I also love seeing how fantasy writers take those tropes and make them new and unique and fresh and awesome. That’s what I want to write, actually. So. YES to this post. 🙂

OH OH HELLO! HELLO!!! *HOMESCHOOLER HI FIVE* (I mean, I did graduate, BUT. Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler. *nods*)😂 But dude, dude, WE ARE LIKE TWINS. I was 100% grown up on historical fiction!! NARNIA WAS MY FIRST FANTASY LOVE TOO. (I was like 12 or something?? And then I read them like 398439 times after that.😂) Did you ever read the Wayne Thomas Batson christian fantasy as a kid? I was an avid fan of those too. hehe. BUT YUS. FANTASY IS EVERYTHING and so so fun to write as well. Love it.

Cait, this post is ABSOLUTELY fantabulous. You win at all the things ever. I from now on and forever more bow down to you, because HELLO, SUPREME MISTRESS RULER OF THE BOOKISH THINGS! (that’s you, by the by)

Haha, I always have such a blast reading your posts and this one is no exception! Great list–LOVE all your explanations and blurby bits. Particularly of the dragon variety, though really, this entire post is gold. Great work–and thanks so much for sharing with us!

Here is my Top Ten Tuesday, if you’re interested. Either way, happy book-ing!

I can’t help but thinking that the perfect book for you would be about a mighty dragon who has been cursed to an eternity of spitting icing instead of fire to coat mini cupcakes for an evil witch with a huge hairy mole on her nose and a hunchback so that she can feed her army of zombies. Did I get anywhere near?

I love this post! I was reading through it shouting “YES!” in answer to questions that weren’t even asked. I’ve actually only recently got back into reading fantasy (after being so into it in a big way during my teens) and I don’t know why I gave up on it for so long?? I’m completely addicted again, and I am so glad. I’ve truly been missing out on so magic and wonder over those sad years where I so cruelly neglected it! (Also, that last photo reminded me that Six of Crows arrived today and, even though I mas MAJORLY disappointed and angry and sad with Ruin and Rising, I am SO EXCITED to meet Kaz and co. <3 ) (And I shouldn't really be abandoning working my way through my June TBR to read it but I probably will OOPS)

I think if I had to choose a genre to read forever, I'd have to go really wide and choose "romance" — which I guess is sort of cheating since there's romance in so many different genres… But I need me some love in a novel. I'm a hopeless romantic. I just can't help it. I'm not even ashamed about it anymore.

I DID THAT TOO THOUGH!! I fully gave up on fantasy for like 4 or so years. Omg, so deluded. And now I’m back in and 100% addicted.😂I even venture into the adult fantasy occasionally. ALTHOUGH THAT’S TOTALLY SCARY. Ahem.

AFJDLSKAD I AM THE SAME WITH RUIN AND RISING. My ship sank. *howls* I will never understand that book, ugh, it was the worst. BUT SIX OF CROWS IS EVERYTHING. I hope you love Kaz!! And his adorable gang of psychopaths. <3

I am going to cry if I have to chose between Fantasy and SciFi because I cannot do it. But the reason for the love is the same, escapism (and usually less icky romance than Contemporaries). Plus, with me dragons and alien species are equal on the applause meter. And this convcludes my comment spamming for the day. Unless you post again before I go to bed. XDLa La in the Library recently posted…BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY – MEMORIES OF ASH By Intisar Khanani

And, oh oh I will be kind and not make you choose between fantasy and sci-fi. ;D I do like sci-fi too!! But, like not hardcore sci-fi because my little brain melts into an unhappy puddle of "what now".😂 BUT YES TO THE DRAGONS AND ALIENS AND JUST GENERAL AWESOME.

“I SHALL GROW TALL AND STRONG SO I MAY READ FANTASY NOVELS”. #legit * XD I am honestly laughing so hard right now you have no idea.

Fantasy novels involving assassins are basically the best thing ever. And wizards. asdfghjkl Fantasy is so much fun. <3 Although I can never seem to write fantasy? I guess I'm too much of a boring pineapple. xD

Fantasy is my EVERYTHING (which is hard to tell, probably, since I was so reserved about it in this post). But it is rather hard to write, I admit. *nods* I write a lot of it, but sometimes I get worried all my worlds sound the same. AGH. LIFE IS HARD.

This is a brilliant post, Cait. I could not agree more 😀 Though I’ve always loved fantasy, historical fiction is what I enjoy reading and writing the most. But there is so much sense in all of your reasons 🙂 WHO CAN FORGET THE DRAGONS? Fantasy has always been my escapism! All of my troubles literally go away. And I absolutely love the runaway royalty trope. I can’t get enough of that one.

Haha, honestly I feel like fantasy is just as hard. I have huge respect for fantasy writers. My biggest problem at the moment is not making it a history textbook. I’m not sure if you have the same problem with fantasy? I’m quite fearful that I’ll miss important events out, so I think it’s quite nice that you get to choose exactly what happens when writing fantasy.

I’m also a fantasy junky. Until a few years ago, I never even realized it, until I did a fantasy reading challenge. I thought I was actually challenging myself, when it was a walk in the park. Doh! Yes, there need to be more dragons in books. Who doesn’t want a dragon? I do, that’s why one lives on my back. He peeks out if you lift my shirt. LOL! I think all of your points are very spot one, and wouldn’t change or add anything else. Great article!

Hahaha, omg that’s brilliant!😂 We need to do a contemporary reading challenge, eh?!? ;D (But I mean, who would want to? FANTASY. <3 LOVE THEE.) And yes I want a dragon. Or a pocket dragon!!! That would be so cute!

Your point #2- it’s actually true!
I suspect that many of us are long lost fantasy creatures (with amnesia, led to believe we’ve lived this way since forever). We don’t fully understand this odd thing called ‘real life’, but we read fantasy and feel as if we know it, somehow.

I suspect this is 10000% true. I’m probably like a repressed dragon, tbh. SOMEDAY THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT AND I SHALL FLY ACROSS THE WORLD EATING ALL THE TREES AND THINGS AND RULING MAJESTICALLY. #truth

Thanks so much for the cake origin story. Asking “did Egyptians really invent cake??” in my head was going to distract me from your awesome list! Good point at how productive fantasies generally are – those fantasy folk are stone cold doers, And I think I might create a T-shirt to wear while I’m reading that says “Sometimes you just need a break and a dragon.” No truer words!Stephanie recently posted…TOP TEN TUESDAY | Ten Reasons I Love SFF

How are you so persuasive? Because I wouldn’t put it past you to give everybody cake that made them agree with you (although that would be a great way to become the ruler of the world, plus cake!). I now really want to read a fantasy book, with dragons! I defiantly think that there should be more dragons, who else it going to help carry all the books? Although, a tiger would be pretty cool too. 🙂Anna @ Adventures with a Book Nerd recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Reasons I Hate Writing Negative Reviews (With Rambling)

Definitely don’t put it past me. It’s my #1 goal in life to bribe everyone to my way of thinking with CAKE and DRAGONS. #winning AND YES THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE DRAGONS. I love them so much, but I’ve only read, like, a handful of dragon books and it’s such a shame.

*High Five* from one homeschooler to another! Fun fact. 🙂 Although despite this, I will confess, contemporary is my go-to genre.

I haven’t read much fantasy, but I’d like to, so hopefully, these are all reasons to pique my curiosity. Also, I love the runaway royal plot no matter the genre. It’s always in style! 🙂Rissi recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | 7 TV Shows I Love

Fantasy is one of my all time favorite genres, but I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been picking up more sci-fi than before. Either way, for both I love the possibilities that are open to them. 🙂 I don’t think I could have put this any better myself.

I’m only 5’4″, so I get you there – I’m not the strongest but I can sure carry a lot of books at once. That has to count for something! 🙂

Another fantastic post! As usual! I don’t read many fantasy book any more but I’m trying to pick more because everything you say is so true! I especially agree with: IT’S SO UNRELATABLE THAT IT IS, IN FACT, ENTIRELY RELATABLE. And because of Dragons! Yep, who doesn’t love dragons? 🙂 Alba in Bookland

I would DEFINITELY pick fantasy as well. There’s only one book I read this year that wasn’t fantasy and it immediately was my least favorite (it was Me Before You). Whenever I read a book besides fantasy I honestly get SO bored, like: Where is my handsome sassy prince, where are the elves, WHERE ARE THE EPIC BATTLES WITH FIRE BREATHING DRAGONS AND MAGIC-OFFS SERIOUSLY.

My mom is always like: why do you never read anything besides fantasy. and my dad is like: you only read fantasy because your life is boring. Yeah who wouldn’t choose to be a fire wielding warrior who can slay people in the blink of an eye??!!!

Ohh, I kind of want to read Me Before You.😂 Except, ya know, lack of dragons. Sheesh. Who has time for that. BUT ZOMG THAT IS ME TOO!! When I’m reading a contemporary I’m always like “Yes but this would be so much better with dragons”.

This is such an incredible post, and it makes me want to DEVOUR all of the fantasy books out there, really. I’m a huge contemporary reader and this year I’m getting more and more into fantasy, and I love how possibilities are endless, worlds are INCREDIBLE and I am amazed by what I am reading, at times! 😀Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday (60) : Top Ten Tips For New Bloggers

Great list! I love Fantasy too I think they’re so awesome!! I completely agree with you, fantasy books are very productive. It’s normal for a fantasy book to have like 500-600 pages but contemporary books with 500 pages are just blah and waste of papers. I noticed you have a thing for dragon though… I don’t think I ever read any books with dragon in it. Any recommendations for me? 😀
My TTT : https://pupuutc.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/top-10-tuesday-5-reasons-i-love-retelling/

DRAGONS ARE EVERYTHING OMG. I love love Seraphina and totally recommend that. <3 Dragon goodness, omg. And I completely agree that when contemporaries get over, like 400-pages they get into waffling blah blah territory and IT AIN'T FUN.

Ahh yes I’ve seen it and it looks interesting. I’ll definitely check it out! 😀 yeah and over 400 pages, there would be so many unnecessary scenes that didn’t really matter to the story. I’ve been planning to read The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson but it has 519 pages and I thought maybe I’ll just put it on hold. It’s waayyy to many :’)Puput recently posted…Top 10 Tuesday: 5 Reasons I Love Retelling

I LOVE FANTASY TOO. That was basically all I read when I was younger (as well as mysteries) but now I love reading contemporary?? I’m not sure why actually. I WANT TO READ MORE FANTASY. Have you got any recommendations?! 😀

HAVE I GOT RECOMMENDATIONS????? OMGGGG. *rolls out 9ft list* Have you read The Demon King series? It is glorious. Also Ruined by Amy Tintera and Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta and The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine. And the Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows (BECAUSE ALL THE QUEENS). And I’ll throw in Six of Crows but you might’ve already read that one BUT AFJADSKLFD I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
*pauses* I’d better stop there.😂

I love this post! I actually love all your posts, you are funny and sassy and you should definitely have a pet dragon….maybe you can change your name to Khaleesi Cait, Defender of Dragons, Bender of Backflips, Empress of Books, Creator of Beauty….just a thought. I too love fantasy and I think all your points were perfect. You are so right about how fantasy gives you endless possibilities. Who doesn’t want a little magic in their lives all the time? I would gladly welcome magical powers, a time-turner or the ability to be invisible/fly any day. Thank you so much for the awesomeness that is your blog. You are AMAZING.

That is an AMAZING title and I should definitely use it. *nods* Also we’ll slip CAKE in there somewhere because #priorities AND YES WE ALL WANT A BIT OF MAGIC NOW AND THEN. (Or all the time. Seriously, someone make my dishes do themselves.)

I love your list even though I’m not a fan of fantasy in general. The inclusion of the word ‘dragon’ in the synopsis of a book makes my fingers burn – and I drop it FAST. Maybe I didn’t have enough fantasy as a child. Maybe I’ve never really given it a chance. . . .

I find escapism in my favouite genre – mystery. Preferably the golden age type but I like quite a few modern series. I’ll read a thriller, but it usually makes me thirsty for some real mystery books.

Great to make your acquaintance down there in Oz. (I’m in Nova Scotia, on the East coast of Canada.)

‘”Go home baby child!” and then — WHAM — seven civilisations have been decimated.’ – LOL Cait you never fail to make me literally laugh out loud. I love this post mainly because fantasy is also my one true love and I was vigorously nodding my head throughout. I especially like number 7… Even as a wide-eyed 12 year old I was completely astounded by these writer’s abilities to create whole new actual worlds with MAPS and LANGUAGES and TRADITIONS. And here’s little old me struggling to write a contemporary. (I always thought I’d be the next J.K. Rowling… y’know the Queen of Fantasy and all but apparently I’m writing a contemporary. No idea how this happened.) Also yes. It’s the best form of escapism. Just a really really great break from life.

YES. Fantasy for the WIN!!!!! It is definitely my genre of choice. Also, hello fellow Homeschooler! XD I so understand about contemporaries. I mean, who needs high school anyways?!?! I’ll take the stabbing and plots to over throw kingdoms, thank you very much. And just as a FYI, should I ever get the short stories I’m trying to self-publish actually published, the magic realism/multi dimension hopping novel I would LOVE to write and think about EVERY SINGLE DAY is going to have DRAGONS in it all over the place! So I will be doing something to help fill the dragon gap that is sadly present in todays books.Em recently posted…Southern Belles

HELLO HOMESCHOOLER! *hi fiveS* I’m graduated now, but sTILL. HOMESCHOOLER CULTURE FOREVER. *nods* And highschool..ugh. It just sounds terrifying. I will definitely take the dragons over it too. Also I’m very very VERY glad you’re helping to fill this dragon-shaped-hole in our lives. YOU ARE A HERO.

To me, Fantasy books actually have potential to far more than escapism. Of course, to be honest, I also read books mainly because of escapism, I do love all those sassy heroes who pull the sword from the stone.
But I think they can also be more than that. Actually, Fantasy authors can do a lot of social, philosphical and human analyzing through their books, by extracting one aspect of the real world, masking it through Fantasy and thereby actually de-masking it all over. One of my favorite books, “The War of the Flowers” by Tad Williams (he inspired and was inspired by G.R.R.M. so they’re kindof writing buddies) does that in a very enjoyable way while not destroying the Fantasy plot at all. I guess some people might see it rather negative because it might destroy escapism a little bit, I admit, but I’m seriously in love with Fantasy that gives me all of that stuff to analyse, discuss and reflect on.Windsprite recently posted…What’s about spoiler-free reviews anyway?

Love your reasons! I have not read much fantasy. I suppose like most, Harry Potter would be the one series I have read (and reread and reread!) and LOVED! I really don’t know what one ‘genre’ I would select as a favorite. My posting (http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2016/06/top-ten-tuesday-for-june-7.html) dealt with historical fiction and mystery–pretty dull and boring compared to all your fantasy tropes! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Smoke & Mirrors!

Obviously I’d pick fantasy, as it was my first love/fandom etc. I read LOTR when I was ten, and have been obsessed with fantasy ever since. 99% of my books are in some way fantasy. Although I also love a good, non cheesy contemporary, like ATBP. BUT ALL THE LOVE MUST GO TO FANTASY.
I am seriously disappointed in the fact that most novels don’t have dragons. Like sure you can shove a dragon into a contemporary. It’d make everything better. Imagine ATBP with dragons….OMG I SHOULD TURN THAT INTO A FANFIC.
My favorite book with dragons in it is the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. SO MANY AWESOME DRAGONS IN IT. I’m currently reading the Invisible Library, and that has minuatre dragons on the cover(THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY) and dragons in it too.

Wait wait you read LOTR at 10?!!? YOU ARE AMAZING. *bows to your childhood reading skills* 😂 (And I hope ATBP stands for All the Bright Places?? Because that book DESTROYED ME and I love it and it’s one of my all-time favourites and proof I’ll always still read some contemporary because THERE ARE SUCH GOOD GEMS THERE STILL.) Ahem.

But honestly, where are our dragons???? ATBP would be wonderful with dragons. No doubt.

Great list – love so many of these things about fantasies! I love the fact that so much more gets done in fantasy books – they are just jam packed with action – and that they let you escape for a little while into an entirely new world. Also completely agree that dragons and fantasy tropes just make everything better 🙂

I would probably choose fantasy, too. My first love was high fantasy (Sherwood Smith’s Wren to the Rescue started me on that path… I linked it because you might like it, based on what you’ve written here), but I’ll go for whatever these days: urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, paranormal fantasy, etc. I’m not really a fan of YA contemporary, either (unless it has fantasy elements in it), although I did attend high school. The thing is, my experience was pretty different from most of the characters in YA contemporaries. There was no romance. We were nerds, and dating was just… not on the radar, I guess. Only one of my friends had a boyfriend, and he was already part of our nerdy little group. So when I see a YA contemporary with love triangles and relationship drama and all that stuff, I’m just sitting there thinking, “Priorities, people! Don’t you want to get into a good university? You can’t do that if you’re cutting class to make out behind the gym!”La Coccinelle @ The Ladybug Reads… recently posted…Review – A Monstrous Place: A Tale From Between (DNF)

And like I do like some contemporaries??? But I will 99% surely pick up a fantasy first. Unless the contemporary promises creepy things. haha. Okay then, it’s not really contemporary is it..oops. And I just don’t really connect to ANY school situation, with all the homework and drama because I just DIDN’T HAVE THAT.

YES FANTASY ALL THE WAY. I have grown up and lived on fantasy, so yes, that is the right way to go. (Although, I’m writing a sci-fi right now…how did that happen?) I love your list (and how you mention stabby things every other paragraph haha). I think my favorite part about fantasy is just the world building. I love reading about different worlds and cultures that people have created and wow it’s amazing and just fantastical. I don’t even know how some authors can think of all that information, let alone make it relate to the story. And yes. We always need more dragons. 🙂

There was a LOT of stabby appreciation here. Ahem. I’m SURE I’M NORMAL THOUGH. *nods enthusiastically to make it true* And yes yes to fantasy world building!! Especially when it’s totally vivid. *flails*

THE ASSASSIN-BUT-NOT-ACTUALLY-AN-ASSASSIN THING IS SO FRUSTRATING. Or, like, a book about horrible assassins that are still called great assassins. Like, I finished Assassin’s Heart last night, and not only is Lea not the sharpest knife in the drawer, she kills people for a living, deals with poisons as her freaking career, and gets poisoned in the first chapter. Uh, what. SHE SHOULD HAVE TASTED IT. I mean, there’s a reason why people put poisons in food or wine. Even arsenic, which (from what I’ve read [yay, weird writer research]), is pretty mild in flavor, but people who know poisons still know they’re being poisoned because it tastes like bitter almonds.Aine recently posted…So, Aine, What’s Been Going On In Your Life Lately? | Doughnuts + College News (!) + Writerish Stuff

I’M SO SICK OF SUCKY ASSASSINS. THEY DON’T DESERVE THAT TITLE. AND I HATED ASSASSIN’S HEART. Like I can rant about that for 900 years. *growls* Lea as the WORST and stupidest assassin. Like, seriously, slipping up in the first chapter???? And in like every chapter after that??? That book was a mess. *collapses*

OMG but all of this is SO TRUE! I adore fantasy and always have. It’s my comfort genre. The first book I wrote WASN’T fantasy, but I quickly finished it with a boring ending because it had no magic so why even try? I learned from my mistakes (i.e. no magic = give up), and my next attempt was basically Narnia. (Progress?)

And I agree 100% about the homeschooler relatability problem. I once tried to write a YA contemporary set in high school (as a King Arthur retelling because I can’t help myself) and then it failed within the first chapter because I didn’t know what I was doing. (So now it’s turned into NA and college because I’ve got 2 years of experience with that so far wooo.)

For some ridiculous reason, I wrote 6 fantasy books and then QUIT FANTASY FOR LIKE 2 YEARS. So horrible. I was completely deluded. I only started really loving writing again when I let myself fantasy. <3 Ahem. And also YAY for childhoods that involved stealing Narnia. I mean, yay? Nay? Still, pfft, at least we had good taste.

SAME OMG. IT'S SO HARD TO WRITE SCHOOLS. *sobs* My little sister goes to school now but stilllllll. Plus school is ridiculous different in America to Australia, so I can't even try to mesh the information I know. WAH. I can write dragons but not highschool. That's how it is.

Oh my God Cait – Your posts are always fabulous! And there’s always something that makes me laugh out loud. Like how Fantasy’s tend to lose their royalty… so true. But that’s why we love them 🙂

And forget seeing what goes on in an authors head – I’d love to see what goes on in yours! I’d love to get my hands on a story you’ve written, I have no doubt it would be entertaining!

But I have to agree fantasy is the best! It’s my favourite genre to read, and generally what I try to write, Some magic, poisons, a kick ass familiar… and of course dragons – it’s guaranteed to be a story I would read. Who are you favourite fantasy authors? My go to’s generally tend to be Maria. V Snyder (I want to marry Valek) and Tamora Pierce, Zoe Marriott…. and I better stop listing names otherwise I’ll be typing all day!

In fantasy imaginary creatures pop out of nowhere and main characters use magic that you know doesn’t exist, and I guess my brain just can’t process or believe that. At least in dystopia or science fiction you can see how the world comes to be and it’s (somewhat?) believable.

But I do love how fierce and strong the protagonists tend to be in fantasy. And they’re usually action-packed, so that’s nice. 😉 Thanks for sharing Cait and, as always, fabulous post! <3Zoe @ Stories on Stage recently posted…The Loose Ends List

WHAT.
ZOE.
I THOUGHT WE WERE TWINS.
*howls*
😂 Okay okay I’ll forgive you. 😉 I actually find sci-fi harder to believe, honestly. hehe. But we’re all different! And GOOD fantasy doesn’t have things popping out of nowhere, althooooough finding GOOD fantasy is often a bit tricky too.

YES TO ALL OF THIS OH MY GOODNESS. Fantasy is indeed the best thing since cake and I love all of your reasons! (Especially the #HomeschoolConfessions…)

“CAKE INVENTION WAS A TEAM EFFORT. GO HUMANITY. WE DID GOOD.” I lost it at this. XD <3 <3 <3 Also at the backflips on a pegasus. Also at the sprinting across galaxies with only pistachios. And the kiddie leash. GOSHDARNIT HOW ARE YOU SO HILARIOUS CAIT?? YOU'RE ON A ROLL TODAY. (Obviously a dinner roll. Because you can eat them. But nevermind…)

Oh, goodness, I LOVE the lost/forgotten/runaway royalty trope toooo! 😀 It's so good to hear that you do too. Not all tropes are bad! I love this one. It's so fuunnn to read about!

OKAY SO YOUR 6TH (PRODUCTIVE) IS LIKE /THE/ BEST THING OF EVER!!!! So true though! 😀 I died at this one. It's my favorite. *huggles list*

And yes to no reality. UGH REALITY. Like you said, we have to put up with it all the time, so breaks and dragons are good. *nodnod*

ANYWAYS I LOVE THIS POST YES AND FANTASY IS ABSOLUTELY THE ONE GENRE I WOULD READ FOR ALWAYS. (Who'm I kidding; it's pretty much all I read NOW. XD)

YAYYYYYY. I’M SO GLAD WE ARE IN AGREEMENT. This definitely means you know what’s up, Deborah. YOU WISE BEAN. Ahem. Also yes, isn’t humanity nice to sometimes do good things? Like CAKE. And BOOKS too, while we’re at it. *hi fives humanity*

And omg I’m glad you like the runaway trope too! IT’S SO GOOD. I mean, it’s done a LOT but it’s also awesome and I’m addicted to it so no regrets.😂 And let’s just definitely agree that reality is better in small doses. *nods* *eats books to recover from reality*

Yes to everything in this post! Fantasy is my favorite genre, and I’m also only 5’1”. We’re basically the same person, ha ha:) I love fantasy because life is more interesting when magic is involved. Also, after all of your campaigning for more dragon books, I’ve started scribbling down ideas for a modern fantasy book in which various dragons rule over different parts of Earth.

Um, all of this. You ain’t ever been wrong, Cait. Lol I dare someone to go to an author’s book signing and actually pat their head like that, and I would hope security doesn’t drag them out. lolol. BUT IKR?? When we read fantasy YA, we officially become fabulous and magical. Ooh. Aah. Makes me think of Starflight. <3peach @ rebelle reads recently posted…Review: Wink Poppy Midnight

OMG your posts always make me laugh! HAHA but seriously though, I loooove fantasy and I definitely agree with your points, especially the first point. I mean, with fantasy, there really is no limit. You could put anything you want in fantasy book, and BAM it becomes legit. And and and YES sometimes I do wonder how amazing fantasy authors are, because they have this whole new world in their brain, like HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH ALL THIS and I cannot even come up with creative ideas for my school project. Amazing post, Cait, as usual!Maryam @ Once Upon A Story recently posted…Review: The Unbound (The Archived #2) by Victoria Schwab

I couldn’t pick JUST ONE genre. Some of my favs are sci-fi, action, and YES FANTASY(w/dragons preferably) And I love magic, and I 100% agree about not being able to relate w/YA contemporary because I am homeschooled too! #HomeschoolersUnite And we must have dragons, more and more dragons until HAlF the books have dragons. That’d be good.

DRAGONS SHOULD JUST BE IN EVERYTHING OMG. IT WOULD MAKE LIFE SO MUCH BETTER. Ahem. But I mean, the “which is your favourite genre” question is almost as torturous as “which is your favourite book” SO I ADMIT THAT IT’S UNFAIR. *nods*
OH oh hello homeschooler! *hi fives*

OMG I love this! I’m quite intimidated to say that I’m honestly not big on the whole fae and assassins (I’m a contemporary girl, see… .😂) BUT it’s getting to me. All I’ve been seeing in the book community are fantasy reads and thus I’ve been thrust into the world of magic and wizards myself. I’ve only read a handful and I ended up adoring them to bits. I have this love/hate relationship with Fantasy where I’m either all up for it or not at all. We DO need more dragons though!

I would pick fantasy, but I do love my WWII fiction, so I don’t know what I would do. Luckily I don’t need to pick so whatever hahah. I also love fantasy because there are just an endless list of possibilities. And I also am not a huge fan of reality, it is quite boring! So might as well read about something fun!

Plus fantasy doesn’t necessarily have to have romance, which makes me happy sometimes.

Well I lied, I like romance sometimes, I guess I mean that it doesn’t have to focus on relationship drama, which I hate.Valerie recently posted…Review: The Marked Girl

Yes.😂 I mean this torturous question is kind of like “pick a favourite book” and we all know HOW CRUEL THAT IS. Ahem. ;D But the possibilities of fantasy get me every time! And I do like that romance is often not the fore-front of the story. OR. It’s the kind of romance where they all hate each other right until the last minute and then — BOOM — the other person dies. So much win.

FANTASY HANDS DOWN. Actually maybe sci-fi because I love science, I love fiction, so science + fiction = the closest thing to heaven on earth so. I totally relate to your opinion about contemporaries (#alsohomeschooler). And some contemporaries are just petty imo.
WHY READ ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL AND LOVE TRIANGLES AND TEENAGE DRAMA WHEN YOU CAN BE COMMITTING REGICIDE AND OVERTHROWING EVIL OVERLORDS AND SLAYING GHASTLY CREATURES
*cough*
I totally did not say that.

Sci-fi is KINDA like fantasy’s close relative, though, right?!??! Because I mean, YOU GOTTA HAVE A FEW FANTASY ELEMENTS THERE TOO. Although I’m 99% sure they’re going to colonise the moon. One of these days. Maybe not today, maybe more like tomorrow. *nods sagely* Oh oh hello fellow homeschooler!! (Well I’m graduated now BUT IT’S STILL A CULTURE, AMIRITE?!😂)
REGICIDE FOR THE WIN I SAY. *hi fiveS*

I AM VERY GLAD FOR YOUR APPROVAL. See this post is secretly a petition and afterwards we’ll throw it at all the publishers and say “SEE ALL OF CAIT’S FOLLOWERS WANT MORE DRAGONS SO NOW YOU GOTTA”. This is 100% sure to work.

Haha, you definitely bring up a lot of valid points! I have to admit that I’m one of those people that are pretty picky about fantasy novels – especially if they are “high” fantasy books. Like, I loved the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain, but I hated The Hobbit and LotR. Weird, right? I was thinking the whole time through The Hobbit, “If they go up ONE MORE mountain, I’m going to lose it!” XD I think a lot of my iffyness stems from the fact that, like you mentioned, fantasy books tend to be pretty hefty. I’m not afraid of a nice, long book, but if we get up into 800+ pages, there better be some damn good characters or plot going on. I just get bored after a while, I guess. (I’m like this with audiobooks too, ironically. Anything over 16 hours and I get antsy.) I guess I tend to like YA Fantasy and Fantasy from authors I know have won me over in the past…

BUT, if you like dragons, I have a couple of recommendations. The first is Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace by MaryJanice Davidson. It has weregragons and wereachnids and it’s SUCH a hidden gem. Also, Julie Kagawa wrote a series about dragons, though I’ve only read the first one Talon. It was okay, but nothing phenomenal.

*whispers* I died reading the first LOTR book omg. Fantasy DOES have to be good and engaging and like really well written (AND FUNNY, I THINK) for me to love it too. I tend to be SUCH a fantasy fiend that my standards are super high too.😂 But yes, dude, no one wants to read 800+ pages of BLEH. I’M WITH YOU THERE!! (YA fantasy = the best though.)

Ooh, thank you for the recommendations! I haven’t heard of the first one but I LOVE LOVE TALON. I just bought the 3rd book actually. <3

LOVE THIS POST! As in to the nth level!
Now, I kind of want to read a fantasy book! Thanks for the very interesting post. 🙂
My favorite genre would be, Sports Contemporary (well, anything contemporary). It bothers me a bit when I can’t relate to the story, just cause it’s impossible to happen in real life. Even though contemporary books are cliche, I know at the back of my head that it has at least 5% chance of happening compared to fantasy plots with .01% possibility rate. 🙁 Sometimes, I do wish fantasy worlds actually exists.

Contemporary books aren’t always cliche! I’ve read some extremely unique ones. ;D But yes hahah, still usually 5% happening…ALTHOUGH THAT’S MORE THAN THE .01% OF FANTASY I SUPPOSE. Although I maintain I shall catch a dragnon and ride it presently.

WHAT GLORIOUS, MASTERFUL AND (at times) DOWNRIGHT PAINFUL REASONS AS TO WHY FANTASY IS THE GREATEST AND ANYONE WHO THINKS OTHERWISE IS DELIGHTFULLY WRONG. *pats them on the head and feeds them fantasy* I don’t think it’s even possible to TRULY verbalize ALL the reasons why. Some are so intrinsic, and probably have something to do with our upbringing, too. Which means – FEED YOUR KIDS FANTASY, PARENTS. IT WILL BE THE GREATEST FAVOR YOU’VE DONE THEM SINCE THE PESKY BIRTH THING. (No, really. I was raised on fantasy ,and it’s my alpha and omega. My friends whose first bookish love was fantasy – ditto. Yet those friends who grew up reading contemporaries – even if they tend to reach for fantasy the most now (because my influence is great and far-reaching), they can’t quite commit to it as a favorite. And they always fear it going in in a way the rest of us just… don’t.) SO THERE. PROOF THAT FANTASY ALSO NEEDS TO BE CONSUMED FROM AN EARLY AGE.

As for all other reasons – you’ve listed them! I don’t think you could EVER fall in love with a world as thoroughly and immersively as you do with a fantastical, fictional, magical, make-belief land of (potential) dragons and falling kingdoms. (Not the Falling Kingdoms series, though, because… *eyes it reproachfully*) There ARE plenty of modern-day contemporary reads I love, but they have yet to make my soul ache for their setting as badly as Hogwarts/Middle Earth/Ravka/Eretz/and recently Velaris did. That’s just an unparalleled level of longing. <3Lexie @ The Honest Bookclub recently posted…THE RAVEN KING (IN ZERO SPOILERS AND AN ABUNDANCE OF WISHES)

I highly agree with feeding one’s children fantasy. Like I don’t have children (thank heavens) but I feed my nephew/nieces fantasy. EXCEPT my traitorous little nephew told me he didn’t like dragons. I MEAN. WUT. I have failed as an aunt. I need to work harder at this. (Although my niece goes about the library collecting “scary” books and giving them to me. She’s 3. She thinks I only like scary books. Which is….not wrong, really.) Ahem. I digress.

Plus kids who grow up on fantasy are CLEARLY the most fabulous. Look at both of us?! WE ARE MODEL FANTASY CHILDHOOD EXAMPLES.

Zomg I’m glad you didn’t like Falling Kingdoms either.😂 That first book was SO ridiculous ahahahah. #dead

ASDFGHJKL OKAY SO I CAN ENTIRELY RELATE TO THE THING ABOUT NOT RELATING TO SCHOOL. Because I’m homeschooled too obvs so it’s like…”school?? wait whut dat.” (yes, with that grammar. no, i am not a shame to my race XD) BUT SERIOUSLY. OH OH! And can we talk about how hard it is to WRITE school scenes?!?! Like bro, I could go on and on about teleportation and marine biology and quantum mechanics ALLL day but ask me to explain what a math class is like? what a locker hall looks like? how long a kid is in school??? I DON’T EVEN KNOW. GO BOTHER SOMEBODY ELSE’S HEAD. (seriously it’s a problem. XD I tend to make most of my characters in contemporaries homeschooled. haha #helloeasywayout)

ALSO DRAGONS YESSSSSSSS ALWAYS DRAGONS. *FREAKISHLY LOUD SQUEAKS* I’M PLOTTING A FANTASY BOOK CURRENTLY CAIT AND IT INVOLVES DRAGONS!! SO BE CONCERNED. 😉 muahhahaa. seriously though you’ve inspired me to think more about dragons. liKE THEY DESERVE MORE RIGHTS. I grew up with dragon TV shows/movies/paraphernalia/believing that dragons lived in a cave in the cliffs behind my house. *nodnod* They are a fraction of my small dark heart <3 ASDFGHJKL DRAGONNNSSSS.

hmmm as much as I can't relate to school, it's sort of interesting to read about??? HAHA I DON'T EVEN KNOW. But I'd have to say that contemporaries are my favorite. *shrugs* BUT PREFERABLY a contemporary that doesn't involve school/peer stuff/gossip/blah/bubblegum. I WANT DENSITY AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND MAIN CHARACTERS THAT MESS UP THEIR LIVES SO BAD ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS CUDDLE THEM AND FEED THEM WAFFLES. <3 (which is basically what I write into my books because it's really hard to find that in other books ugh ugh.)

DUDE, YES WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY THAT IS SCHOOL. UGHGHGHHHG. And here am I trying, for some unfathomable reason, to write contemporary novels. IT’S SO HARD. It’s just like “and they went to school and skip skip skip all those scenes and omg LOOOK NOW IT’S THE HOLIDAYS” #winning 😂 Ahem. Plus I mean, I read a ton of contemporaries so I should KNOW, right???? But then it’s different for every country? So I’m still stuck. *wails*
GIVE ME FANTASY EVERYDAY ANY DAY.

ZOMGGGGG I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THIS!! DRAGONS! DRAGONS! I have 2 dragon books now and they are my precious darlings. I need dragons in all the books I write. (I can squee one into The Dead Boy, don’t you think? :’)

YES YES TO HIGH FANTASY. With dragons and swords and fun little woodfire baked pizza. WAIT. Okay, maybe not pizza in fantasy? But seriously they had woodfires so IDEK what they were doing with their time if not making pizza.

Fantasy is the best for all the reasons you mentioned. Just yes! I know people rant about tropes, but hand me a fantasy trope and I will adore it to the ends of the universe. AND DRAGONS! HELLO!? Who doesn’t want a dragon?

I like point 2 also. It’s so unrelatable, it’s relatable. we can talk about real issues more freely under the guise of fantasy. And gosh– there is so much action! And gosh– the huge effort it takes to create everything from your head. And gosh– the epicness and, and. I’m just highly intelligent today.

YES YES TROPES ARE SOMETIMES MY FAVOURITE THOUGH AND I HAVE NO SHAME ABOUT THAT!!! Plus fantasy gets some of the BEST tropes of ever. <3 Because anything to do with royalty = miiiiiiine. *snabbles all the books and devours them.

And YES. I like how fantasy books talk about tons of issues and make it interesting to learn about them. And sneakily force us into making opinions.😂 LOVE.

If I could pick one genre, it would most definitely be fantasy. I like #4 because it’s true. I mean I, in real life, am able to stumble over my own feet and broke my nose but when I’m reading fantasy I know what how to handle a sword and not to stab myself. That’s pretty impressive. Also #5 is excellent point. Since I was a kid I knew there is inner princess withing me and so reading about princesses is the best thing ever. Also, when I was a kid I was an assassin sometimes… most of the times. Basically I was Celeana Sardothien (I’m praying right now because I’m not sure how her name is spelled). What I wanted to say, I like reading about those things too. Also, author writing fantasy has IMO bigger fantasy than others although that’s daring thing to say. But hey not everybody can create a web of lies and intrigues and add to that magic, dragons and fights, right? 🙂Simone recently posted…Bookish Confessions

Omg I have no idea how to spell Celaena either.😂 SO YOU’RE DOING FINE. HAHA. Ahem. BUT YYAYYYY that we know fantasy is the true greatest wonder of the literature world. *hi fives* The fantasy writers though, omg. #goals

I totally agree with number 3. If I book even mentions dragons there is the likely hood I will give it a go. With number four we get to be as awesome as they are until we are forced to join the real world (but us writers tend to have more trouble with that :D) I do agree with number five as well but I would have to have some other nut instead of pistachios. I can’t have allergic reactions destroying the adventurous spirit it me. I’m definitely glad you did this post. It reminded me how much I love fantasy.

We can skip the pistachios *nods* because actually technically I’m allergic to all nuts (just mildly though) BUT THIS IS A POST ON FANTASY SO I’M JUST LIVING THE DREAM BECAUSE REASONS. Ahem.😂 I’m glad we both love fantasy! *hi fives*

Omigosh, I love this post! Yes to all your reasons (and especially the dragons. More dragons. MORE DRAGONS. And the odd gryphon wouldn’t come amiss, either.)

If I had to pick only one genre, it would be fantasy, because it can encompass all the other things I love. Fantasy romance? Sure thing! Fantasy mystery with smart, witty detectives? Absolutely. Fantasy set in Regency or Victorian England, or in space, or in the future? No prob. (And I can provide examples of every single one of those.) Fantasy is endlessly flexible.

BAHHAH YOU CRACK ME UP, DASHIE. 😂 I LOVE THIS COMMENT. And duuuude, same. I don’t get the fantasy haters. Why would one want to be in reality all the time anyway? It’s confusing and makes no sense. *nods* Fantasy is much more sensible. IT IS.

Don’t mind me whilst I laugh myself silly. I particularly love point 6 – fantasy characters are scarily productive and here’s me going OH BUT ONE DAY ISN’T TIME ENOUGH TO WASH DISHES. So true, so, so true. And forever dragons!! *salutes* Dragons are life, absolutely. Also – maps!! I love maps and we always (usually) get them in fantasy books which is fantastic! I love this list Cait! 😀

IT’S SO TRUE. They truly like conquer the world in a week and I’m like “I HAVEN’T CLEANED MY ROOM BUT I WILL THIS YEAR, PROBABLY” *sighs* I need some of that motivation. It’s probably to do with the disease and murder hanging over them, right? ahem.

ALSO MAPS OMG I CAN’T BELIEVE I DIDN’T USE MAPS ON ONE OF MY POINTS. I HAVE FAILED.

Oh my gosh I love your list! I love your enthusiasm and your humor! I like fantasy, but it’s like 10% for me. Murder mysteries are my #1. But you can’t beat Harry Potter. No, you can’t. (And it has magic AND dragons!).

Fantasy is my number one too. The battles, the dragons, the horrendous clothes and lack of proper bathrooms love it. I would love to read some more modern fantasy novels.Skye recently posted…Life and Other Problems

That is a very difficult question to answer! I don’t think I would be able to choose just one genre at all 🙁 I do love a good fantasy as well though. All the different kinds of creatures and the high stakes which make the book so exciting work so well for me! You’re so right – fantasy books are so productive. If only I could be that productive when it comes to studying for exams >.>Olivia Roach recently posted…Planner Junkie ~ Chantilly & Co

YES FANTASY AND TROPES AND ASSASSINS!!! Hahaha you must really love Mulan and Tangled, eh?
Really though; I’m always telling my friends about how much I love assassins and they just look at me funny. BUT IT’S ASSASSINS. THEY’RE SO CUTE AND FLUFFY AND THEY KILL SO MANY PEOPLE. I LOVE THEM.Amy recently posted…IT’S OFFICIAL- I AM ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!!